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The New York Jets finally ended its 15-game losing streak to the New England Patriots on Sunday, January 7.
After the 17-3 victory, Robert Saleh responded very simply when asked about beating Bill Belichick, “it feels good.”
“We’ve played him [Belichick] throughout my career. I mean he has been around for a very long time. [I’ve] been a quality control [coach], linebacker’s coach, and as a D-Coordinator. I’ll give him credit, if you ain’t go no haters you ain’t poppin and he’s been poppin for a very very long time. Whenever you can get a win on him that is always special.”
Extra Special for the Jets Organization and Its Fans
The Jets hadn’t beaten the Patriots since the 2015 season.
There was a 2,399-day gap between victories for New York over New England. The last victory was back on December 27, 2015 until the Week 18 dub on January 7, 2023.
You have to go back even further to find the last time the Jets beat the Patriots in Foxboro during a regular season game. That victory was on November 13, 2008. The quarterback for the Jets in that game was Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre.
This was an embarrassing losing streak to an opponent that has haunted the Jets for the last 20-plus years.
The other slice of pie that potentially made this even sweeter is that this could have been Belichick’s last game as the head coach.
NFL Insider Jay Glazer shared on the Fox pregame show that one way or another the Patriots would be parting ways with Belichick this offseason.
Much has been made about coach Belichick’s pursuit of the all-time win record by a head coach. Don Shula still holds that crown with 302 victories
However, with Belichick’s loss on Sunday to the Jets he now holds the all-time losses record for a head coach with 178 defeats. That tied Dallas Cowboys legend Tom Landry who also shares that special distinction.
The Jets ‘Exorcised’ Some Demons in 2023
Gang Green was able to get a few monkies off its back this season. Saleh highlighted a few of them during his January, 7 post-game presser.
First and foremost, the Jets beat the Patriots which ended a 15-game losing streak which was the NFL’s active record for most losses in a row to the same opponent. New York beat the Philadelphia Eagles for the first time in franchise history.
He also noted the difference between this season and last season. In 2022, the Jets ended on a horrific six-game losing streak to close out the year. This time around the green and white won three of its final five.
At the beginning of the season, there was hope for a playoff run and Super Bowl aspirations with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. Those hopes and dreams lasted all of four offensive snaps.
The Jets are now 1-0 in the year of 2024. Saleh said he’s hoping that is the first of many victories during this calendar year. For now, it’ll be the only victory for a while.
The Jets season is over having already been eliminated from playoff contention. Now the focus shifts to a critical offseason.
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